News for February 2, 2000

Radiohead’s producer Nigel Godrich, who’s also produced albums for artists such as Beck, Pavement, and Natalie Imbruglia, is interviewed in this months Les Inrockuptibles, a French music magazine.

When asked about the upcoming Radiohead album, Nigel said,”We’re starting to have a better idea. We spent all 1999 looking for a direction, experimenting and, at the end of the year, we realized that finally had an great lead. I don’t know if we’ll get it to the end, but at least now we have a roadmap.”

He then went on to say,”During the recordings, we’ve been perturbed by external considerations. It’s been four years since we met together in the studio and, in this hostile environment, we felt uncomfortable and in danger. To relieve the stress at first, it was tempting to use the recipes we know work. Therefore, we had to unlearn and get out of the routine. The first step was to break the mould and find new working ways. Look at the Beatles: they reinvented themselves at each album – the only way to ensure longevity. An artist has the duty to always express new ideas, or else he stutters and drivels. Of course, sometimes, some explored ways were wrong. We once thought about not using any guitars on this album, but that’s was just a way to force ourselves out. Since they triumphed with a so-called complicated album as OK Computer they have an unbelievable freedom. They can try anything. But with so much room to maneuver has it’s bad side: we’ll have no excuses if we mess up. It’s frightening and fascinating at the same time. Our future is really in our hands, it’s our only responsibility.”

Ed: “We are not playing this year.”
Ed stated in his latest diary entry that the band were not going to play at this year’s Glastonbury Festival. “There have been a few rumours flying around that we are, so we thought we’d better say something sooner rather than later. It would however be great to play it another year…”